Liver regeneration and repair: Hepatocytes, progenitor cells, and stem cells

Many different terms are used to refer to cells originating in the terminal branches of he bile ductular system and the canals of Hering in rodents and humans, which can function as progenitors for hepatocytes and cholangiocytes, the mature forms of the two hepatic epithelial cell lineages. In rats and mice, in experimental situations in which large amounts of these cells proliferate, the term oval cells is used for single cells or for clusters of cells that form a ductule. Intermediate forms between ductular cells and hepatocytes are often referred to as ductular hepatocytes, and the term neocholangiole has been used to describe the structures that contain these cells. Small hepatocytes that are not…